The Runner
by The Bibliomaniac
Summary: The Doctor said he ran when he looked into the Time Vortex... why?


Disclaimer: As much as I would love to take credit for such a magnificent show as Doctor Who, I have not that honor.

A/N: So... this is NOT my first written fanfic. It is, however, the first one I am showing to anyone (including friends and family!) So while comments and criticism are more than welcome, please, be kind. Now, on with the story.

Koschei was nervous. No, not nervous, he was terrified. Not that he let it show. Well… maybe it showed a little. But he had a right to be scared. After all, it was the Untempered Schism! Not some little model or picture of what time looked like, it was time itself! There were only three possible results from looking at it: inspiration, madness, or terror. Koschei promised himself that he would not be one of the ones who ran away. It would not happen, he would not shame his family thus.

Across the room, the Time Lord who had escorted all the boys to the waiting room reentered. Koschei held his breath. He didn't want to go yet; he wasn't ready. But the Time Lord pointed at a different boy, the friendly one who had greeted Koschei and called himself Theta Sigma. Theta Sigma stood up. He waved at Koschei, who happened to be the only one who had been the only one to respond to his friendly advances even a little bit, and he entered the room.

Koschei settled down to wait again. He had no idea what really happened in the other room, few of the children who had gone in before had come out. He supposed that there was another door. The only ones who came back out were the runners.

The door suddenly banged open. The boy, Theta Sigma, ran out. Ah, thought Koschei to himself, this boy is a runner. Koschei vowed to himself to have nothing to do with him. By this point, Theta Sigma had reached the other side of the room. Koschei expected him to fling open the entry doors and run out, but at the last moment, Theta Sigma swerved towards Koschei. He lost his balance and fell over, toppling Koschei in the process.

Koschei hit the ground hard, the wind knocked out of him. Theta Sigma fell on top of him. Against his will, Koschei met his eyes. They didn't look scared, like all the other runners had; they were determined, concerned, and even a wee bit… excited?

"It's wrong, so wrong. It can't be like this. I've got to do something!" Theta Sigma babbled at him. "I know! I'll fix it! I'll fix it!" He pushed himself off Koschei. "I'll fix it!" he shouted again, and ran to the only computer terminal in the room. There was another child on it, but Theta Sigma pushed her aside. "It must be fixed! It must be healed!" He pulled up several files: maps, histories, blueprints… "I'll fix… I'll HEAL it! It won't be hurt for long!"

Two Time Lords in full regalia rushed into the room. Koschei held back a laugh as he watched them try to look dignified while running. "There he is!" pointed out one of them. The Time Lords approached Theta Sigma. "Come on, child, you cannot be here anymore." The first one pried him away from the computer.

"NO! No, I have to heal it; it must be FIXED, HEALED, MADE BETTER!" he screamed, his voice reaching an octave Koschei could have sworn was impossible for a boy to hit.

"And you will fix it," soothed the other Time Lord.

"Whatever _it_ is," muttered the first one.

The other Time Lord shot a glare at him. "You will fix it, child, but later. Not now. Now is the time for you to join the academy."

Unfortunately, Theta Sigma didn't hear him because he was still screeching at the top of his lungs that he needed to fix and/or heal something.

"So would this be considered inspiration or running away?" shouted the first Time Lord to the other as they dragged the boy, kicking and screaming back to into the other room.

"It could even be madness," shouted back the other Time Lord. "But we'll put it down as running away, because that's the only thing we know for sure that he did. We'll just have to observe him in the future. One way or another, this is the first Time Tot I've ever seen to react like this!"

Koschei stared in amazement as they got the boy back into the room and closed the door. A unique person! Perhaps there was more to this bizarre child than he originally thought. He revised his vow. Instead of avoiding Theta Sigma, he would befriend him.


End file.
